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Haas confident of Thursday return after turbo woes

A solitary installation lap was the only running Haas’s Esteban Gutierrez was able to accomplish during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Wednesday.

Testing is about solving these issues ahead of the first raceEsteban Gutierrez

The brief outing was enough for the team to diagnose an anomaly with the VF-16’s turbocharger, which had been changed overnight following Tuesday’s session.

The newcomers had to remove the turbocharger to properly source the issue, whereupon the rest of the day was spent preparing for an on-track return on Thursday, giving the American-led squad just two more days of testing before the season-opening Grand Prix in Australia later this month

“The aim was to get out again today,” admitted team principal Guenther Steiner. “Obviously, that wasn’t possible and we didn’t manage any further running.

“These cars are very complex. However, everybody is working hard to get the car ready for tomorrow. We’re very positive we can achieve that and get us back on track. We’ll keep on trying, we’ll keep working hard and then we’ll have success.”

Wednesday’s woes came after Gutierrez completed just 23 laps on Tuesday thanks to a fuel system issue. The Mexican now hands over to team mate Romain Grosjean for the final two days in Spain.

“As you can imagine, today has been a bit frustrating,” said Gutierrez. “However, we’re working really well as a team to resolve the situation. Testing is about solving these issues ahead of the first race.

“The team has been doing a great job working very closely together, preparing the car day and night. I’m confident we’ll have a positive outcome for the rest of the test.”

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